C.J. Gish
Santa Fe (Alachua) rallied from deficits in three straight sets to sweep visiting McKeel Academy (Lakeland) on Friday.
The two-time defending Class 4A state champion Raiders (21-8), behind the solid hitting of seniors Joselynn Sanjurjo and Jordan Czaplewski, got past the Wildcats (23-5), 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 in the Class 4A-Region 2 Semifinals.
And while Santa Fe advances to its sixth straight regional final appearance, McKeel Academy didn’t make things easy.
“We thought we could expose them in serve receive, that seemed to be their only weakness, and we did,” Santa Fe coach Eric Marshall said. “We kept them out of system, which really helped us, because if they’re in system we were having trouble stopping them. That’s when they made those runs when they were in system, because their middle could move everywhere, and we knew that. Keeping up with her, she was super athletic.”
The Wildcats jumped out to leads of 2-0 in the first set, 1-0 in the second set and held a 14-13 lead in the third set.
In the opening set, Marshall took a quick timeout after falling behind 2-0. The Raiders responded as Sanjurjo nailed two straight kills to spark a 9-1 run and the Wildcats never got within six points the remainder of the set.
“I thought Joselynn played incredible,” Marshall said. “She’s just so hot. Nobody can outreach her. She touches like 10’6”, so it’s hard to outreach her. I just thought she was above them and they couldn’t stop her because of where she was.”
In the second set, things got tighter with the score tied five times in the early going. A Wildcats’ kill knotted the score at 12-12 before Santa Fe surged ahead behind two Czaplewski kills that led to a 10-5 run.
A Sanjurjo kill, Gracyn Marshall ace and an Alyssa Moneypenny block put the Raiders ahead 24-17 and, following a small Wildcats 3-0 surge, Santa Fe sealed the win when McKeel hit the ball out of bounds for set point.
With its season on the line, McKeel fought hard, but with the set tied 14-14, Santa Fe switched the momentum behind two kills apiece from Kim Daniels, Czaplewski and Sanjurjo to take a 24-15 lead.
The Wildcats scored their final point to pull within 24-16 before Czaplewski hit the set and match-winning point.
“Our kids dug in and played and that’s all I could ask,” Marshall said. “Nobody thought we’d get this far.”
Czaplewski led Santa Fe with 20 digs and 17 kills. Sanjurjo had 14 kills, Gracyn Marshall had 20 assists and Olivia Beavers added 12 digs.
Santa Fe travels to Orlando to play Bishop Moore with a 7 p.m. start time on Tuesday.
Williston beats Dixie County
The Red Devils defeated the visiting Dixie County Bears on Friday in the regional semifinal round, 25-15, 25-15, 20-25, 25-15.
“Another great atmosphere in the Devils Den this afternoon,” said Williston coach Kevin Tiller. “Our fans showed up for the early start. We didn’t play our best brand of volleyball, but our girls fought hard and kept swinging. We made too many simple errors.
Grace Dola led Williston with 26 kills and Chanitey James added nine. Kai Gowland had five aces.
Williston hosts Newberry at 7 p.m. on Tuesday for the Class 1A-Region 4 Final.
“I’m looking forward to Tuesday,” Tiller said. “Hank Rone will have the Newberry Panthers ready to play and the Devils Den will be rocking.”
Newberry defeats Chiefland
The Panthers advanced to their seventh regional championship match in nine seasons after defeating Chiefland on Friday, 25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 27-25
“Chiefland played us tough,” said Newberry coach Hank Rone. “It’s been a blessing coaching these girls over the years as an assistant and head coach.”
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Class 2A-Region 1 QuarterfinalsNo. 4 St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park)d. No. 5 Countryside Christian 25-18, 25-16, 25-19
No. 2 Christ’s Church Academy (Jacksonville) d. No. 7 St. Francis Catholic Academy 25-7, 25-6, 25-11
Class 3A-Region 1 QuarterfinalsNo. 1 Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville) d. No. 8 P.K. Yonge 25-18, 25-18, 25-13
Wednesday, Oct. 25
Class 5A Regional Quarterfinals
Class 5A-Region 1No. 2 Ridgeview (Orange Park) d. No. 7 Columbia (Lake City) 25-10, 25-8, 25-10
Thursday, Oct. 26
Class 1A-Region 3 Semifinals
No. 1 Branford d. No. 4 Aucilla Christian (Monticello) 25-18, 25-12, 25-10
Friday, Oct. 27
Class 1A-Region 3 Semifinals
No. 2 Union County (Lake Butler) d. No. 3 Lafayette (Mayo) 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23
Class 1A-Region 4 Semifinals
No. 1 Williston d. No. 4 Dixie County (Cross City) 25-15, 25-15, 20-25, 25-15
No. 2 Newberry d. No. 3 Chiefland 25-19, 25-18, 25-27, 27-25
Class 2A-Region 1 Semifinals
No. 1 Oak Hall d. St. John’s Country Day (Orange Park) 25-19, 25-19, 26-24
Class 4A-Region 2 Semifinals
No. 2 Santa Fe (Alachua) d. No. 3 McKeel Academy (Lakeland, FL) 25-19, 25-20, 25-16
